Game board



Oct. 29, 1935.

F. K. MAITLAND 2,019,150

GAME BOARD Filed May 29, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l #IIIIIILIIIII} 3mm Frank [CMaz'zZand Patented Oct. 29, 1935 UNITED STATES GAME BOARD Frank K. Maitland, Hermosa Beach, Calit, as-

signor to J. Frank Meyer, Flintrid e, Calif.

Application May 29, 1934, Serial No. 728,073

3 Claims.

My invention relates to game boards, and has particular reference to game boards employing counters which may be distributed in various positions upon the board, the positions designating predetermined values.

Game boards employing a number of pockets, holes or other play-piece receptacles, distributed thereover to receive playing pieces projected upon the board, are well known, the most common form thereof being known as the pin and marble games, comprising, essentially, a playing board provided with a plurality of holes for the reception therein of balls which are projected upon the playing field by any suitable proiecting devices. These boards are usually supported at a considerable angle to the horizontal so that the ball once projected upon the board will travel by gravity over the board, striking the pins or other obstructions disposed over the surface of the board to direct the balls into the various pockets thereon. Each of the pockets is usually designated with a predetermined scoring value so that those pockets in which it is most diflicult to place the balls,- have the higher scoring values.

To add further attractiveness to the game, various devices for advancing the scoring values are sometimes provided, and it is an object of my invention to provide a new and novel device for advancing the scoring values of the playing pieces or balls which are projected upon the game board.

Another object of this invention is to provide a game board in which a portion of the board is provided with a plurality of pockets and is separated from the remaining portions of the board so that balls placed in the separated section of the board may be advanced in values by movement of the separated section of the board.

Another object of the invention is to provide a game board as set forth in the preceding paragraph, in which a predetermined pocket on the remaining portion of the board is adapted to receive a ball therein to operate mechanism for causing the separated section of the board to advance the value of balls thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple operating mechanism for moving the separated section of the board to advance the value of the balls therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and novel elevating mechanism which may be employed for lifting balls which have been played upon the board back to a position in front of projecting devices employed for projecting the balls over the board.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent ifrom, and best understood by reference to, the following specifications read in connection with 5 the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a top plan view of the game board constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail diagrammatic view of the separated section of board constructed in acl cordanoe with my invention, and illustrating the control and operating mechanism therefor;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view of a portion of the board, taken along lines III- -III of Figs. 1 and V Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of a portion of the v board, illustrating the ball-releasing mechanism employed in connection with my invention;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, taken along line V--V of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail, horizontal sectional view of one end of a game board constructed in accordance with my invention and illustrating particularly the ball-elevating mechanism of my invention;

Fig. 7 is a detail, vertical sectional view, taken along line VJI-VII of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view, taken along line VIII-VIII of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 9 is a detail, sectional view, taken along line IX-'IX of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated, in Fig.1, a game board apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, as comprising a suitable, substantially rectangular cabinet I, the top of which is adapted to be enclosed by means of a top 2 constructed of glass or other transparent material, which will permit a View of the playing board 3 therethrough. The playing board is illustrated as comprising an elongated rectangular board extending from the rear end I of the cabinet to a point spaced slightly inwardly of the front end 5 of the cabinet.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the board 3 forms a main playing field over which play pieces, such as balls, may be projected and is provided with a suitable border construction 6 comprising a substantially curved surface at the rear end of the board and providing relative narrow marginal portions 1 and 8 ex tending along theextreme sides of the playing field to assist in the guiding of balls over the playing field. A portion of the border member 8 is illustrated as comprising a relatively thin wall a which extends along the ngnanand side of the playing field but substantially inwardly a short distance from the extreme outer side boundary 1 thereof to constitute therebetween a channel l through which balls may be projected by means of suitable spring projecting mechanism located at the front right-hand side of the cabinet.

The playing surface of the playing board 3 is provided with a number of holes l2 extending therethrough to constitute play-piece receptacles or ball-receiving pockets distributed in any desired pattern throughout the board. Each of the holes I2 is designated with a predetermined scoring value, dependent upon the difiieulty of placing a ball in the particular pocket. To increase the skill required to place balls into the various pockets, I provide pins I3, or other obstructing devices, which will be encountered by the balls, causing them to bound from the pins or obstructions in'various directions as the balls pass downwardly over the playing field 3.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the end of the playing field 3, adjacent the rear end 4 of the cabinet, will be at a considerably higher elevation than that portion of the playing board near the front end 5 of the cabinet, so that the balls once projected upon the field will tend to move by gravity downwardly over the field, traversing various paths, determined by the pins which may be encountered by the ball during its passage over the playing field.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, a secondary board I4 is mounted immediately below the playing board 3, provided with a plurality of holes |5 distributed in exactly the same pattern as the pattern of the holes |2 in the playing board 3 but the secondary board is preferably shorter than the playing board 3 so that when the same is in its normal position, as illustrated in Fig. l, the holes |5 thereof are spaced slightly out of alignment with the holes l2 on the playing field 3. The secondary board is slidably mounted for movement longitudinally of the cabinet 5 and may be moved toward the rear wall 4 of the cabinet by means of suitable coin-controlled mechanism illustrated at l6, the secondary board l4 being normally urged to return to its normal position shown in Fig. l by means of a suitable spring l1.

It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that when the secondary board I4 is in its normal position, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the holes l2 will constitute pockets or ball-receiving depressions, permitting the balls to be seated therein, resting upon the secondary board l4, but when the secondary board I4 is moved rearwardly by the coin-control mechanism IS the holes IS in the secondary board 4 will be aligned with the holes I! and will allow the balls to drop through the aligned holes to a sub-floor I8, shown particularly in Fig. 3.

The sub-floor I8, like the playing board 3 and the secondary board l4, extends at a considerable angle to the horizontal to insure that the balls which drop onto the floor l8 will move toward the front end of the cabinet 5, ready to be passed to the projector l, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

The game may be considerably enhanced by providing mechanism which will advance the score of balls placed in certain of the pockets upon the projection of another ball into a selected other pocket. I have shown such mechanism as indicated particularly in Figs. 3 and 4, at 20. The cut-out portion of the playing board 3 may be of any desired shape, to be filled with :3.

separate playing field section 2| placed in substantial alignment with the plane of the surface of the playing board 3.

Inthe form of the apparatus disclosed herein, I have illustrated the cut-out portion 20 as being 5 in the form of a circle, to be closed by a circular disc-like member forming the separate playing field section 2|. The separate section 2| is provided with a plurality of pockets 22 distributed in any desired pattern over such section to receive 10 balls therein. The primary characteristic of the separate section 2| of the board is that the balls, when placed in the pockets, may be advanced to additional scoring values by movement of the pocket or ball-receiving members 22.

In the form of the apparatus shown herein, the separate section or disc 2| has the pockets 22 distributed therearound in the form of a circle and the separate section 2| is mounted upon a suitable vertical pivot 23 about which it may rog0 tate so that when a ball is placed in one of the pockets, the entire section with its pockets may be advanced from its initial position to a second position, giving that ball in that pocket a higher scoring value.

By referring particularly to Fig. 1 it will be observed that suitable guide bars 24 and pins 25 are associated with the board 3 directly in advance of the separate section 2| of the board so as to guide balls into that pocket 22 which is nearest the rear end of the board. Thus by causing rotation of the disc 2| the ball which has been placed in the rearmost pocket, will be moved with its pocket to place the ball and pocket to a new position having a higher scoring value and to move the next pocket 22 to the rearmost position, ready to receive a second ball guided therein by the pins 25 and guide bars 24.

By referring particularly to Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, it will be observed that the separate section 2| 0 of the board is rigidly mounted upon the upper end of a shaft 23, which shaft is secured, to the hub of a disc 26 arranged to be rotated by any suitable power mechanism. A simple form of power mechanism is illustrated herein as comprising the structure of an ordinary vibrating electric bell 21, the vibrator or clapper 28 of which is connected by means of a link 29 to a lever 30 preferably pivoted as at 3| to the shaft 23. The lever 30 is normally urged in a clockwise direction by means of a spring 32 and is drawn in a counter-clockwise direction by the energization of the coils '33 of the electric bell 21. The lever 30 is provided with a dog 34 which is pivoted upon the lever as at 35, the dog extending toward and into contact with the disc 26, engaging the disc at -a considerable angle to the radius of the disc 26. The dog 34 is normally urged toward the disc 26 by means of a suitable spring 31 so that when the lever 30 is moved in a clockwise no direction the dog 34 will grip the disc and move the same a similar distance in a clockwise direction, while, when the coils 33 of the electric bell 21 are energized to draw the lever 30 in a counterclockwise direction, the dog 34 will slip along the 5'5 disc 26 to obtain a new grip ready to move the disc forwardly again upon the next clockwise movement of the lever 30. The bell-clapper 28 of the bell 21 will also strike the bell, the audible alarm of which gives the player an audible signal of his success in advancing the ball on the auxiliary playing-field.

By referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that one of the holes l2, which is indicated by the reference character I2A, may 15 be selected as the particular pocket in which a ball may be placed to cause the operation of the electric bell 21 to cause movement of the separate section 2| of the game board.

The secondary board l4 preferably does not extend under the pocket |2A so that a ball placed in this pocket will immediately pass through the pocket |2A to the sub-floor l8. However, an electrical contact mechanism may be interposed between the playing board 3 and the sub-floor l8, which I have illustrated at 38. This electrical contact mechanism may be selected of any suitable size, shape or form, so that a ball dropping through the pocket |2A will close an electric circuit for the ball.

In the form of the device illustrated herein, the electric contact mechanism 36 consists of a trough pivoted at 39 upon a suitable bearing member 46 secured to the sub-floor l6. The outer end 4| of the trough 38 is provided with an arm 42 arranged to engage and close a pair of electrical contacts 43 which will complete a circuit, as shown in Fig. 2, extending from an electric battery 45 (preferably a number of dry cells contained within the cabinet) by way of conductor 46, contacts 43, conductors 41 and '48, terminal 49 of the electric bell 21, and thus from the opposite terminal 50 of the electrical bell 21 by way of conductor to the opposite terminal of the battery 45.

It will be apparent that the dropping of the ball upon the trough 38 will close the contacts 43 momentarily and to insure that the electric bell 21 will remain energized a sufiicient length of time to advance the separate section 2! of the playing board to its next position, I provide the disc 26 with a plurality of holes 52 so distributed around the disc with relation to the location of the pockets 22 in the separate section 2| that one of these holes 52 is presented immediately above the operating lever 53 of a secondary switch.

As is particularly in Fig. 9, the operating lever 53 consists of a bellcrank pivoted as at 55 to a bearing member 56 mounted upon the main floor 58 constituting the bottom of the cabinet I, the longer arm of which is baffled as indicated at 59 in the direction of movement of the disc 26, while the shorter arm of the lever 53 is arranged in abutting relation with a spring contact 60 which may be moved into contact with a stationary contact 6| forming the contacts of the secondary switch.

It will, therefore, be apparent that while a momentary closing of contacts 43 will start the electric bell 21 to start the movement of the disc 26 and the separate section 2| of the game board, the initial movement of the disc 26 will depress the lever 53 to close the contacts 60, 6| and maintain'these contacts closed until the next hole 52 in the disc 26 arrives immediately above the long arm of the lever 53 at which time the lever 53 will be pressed upwardly by the spring contacts 60, permitting the spring contact 60 to move out of contacting relation with its stationary contact 6|. This will maintain the circuit to the electric bell completed until the separate section 2| of the board has completed its movement to its next position.

It will be observed that the contacts 60, 6| are connected by means of conductors 62 and 63, respectively, to conductors 46 and 41, thus connecting the secondary switch contacts 60, 6| in parallel relation with the contacts 43.

With a game board constructed as thus far described, it will be apparent that by projecting a ball onto the playing field 3 in such manner as to cause the ball to enter the rearmost pocket 22 on the separate section 2|, and then projecting another ball so as to fall into the pocket I2A, :5

that ball which has been received in the separate section 2| will be moved to the next position, while another pocket 22 of the separate section 2| will be placed in the rearmost position for the reception of another ball. This may be repeated, depending upon the skill of the person playing the game, until all of the pockets are filled and until the first ball placed in the first of the pockets 22 has been moved to a position of highest scoring value.

In order to prevent the balls from passing directly through the holes or pockets 22, I provide a secondary plate 64 located below the separate section 2|, and preferably mounted for rotation upon the shaft 23. The secondary plate 64 has 20. a plurality of holes 65 formed therein, corresponding in location with the location of the holes or pockets 22 in the separate section. 2 I, but normally the secondary plate 64 is held in a position such as to displace the holes 65 out of align- 25.

ment with the holes 22 of the separate section 2 I.

When the game is completed and it is desired to allow all of the balls to fall upon the sub-floor I8 for assembly to re-play the same, the forward movement of the secondary board l4 may be em- 0 ployed to cause a movement of the secondary plate 64 relative to the separate section 2 I, to align the holes 65 with the holes 22 and allow the balls to pass therethrough. This may be arranged by providing a suitable spring 66 interconnecting 85 the secondary plate 64 with the separate section 2| and normally urging this plate to its normal position, as shown in Fig. 2, at which time a pair of stop members 61, mounted respectively upon the separate section 2| and the secondary plate 64, are in engagement with each other. The movable secondary board |4 may be provided with a pawl 66 aligned with a plurality of notches 69 in the outer periphery of the secondary plate 64, so that rearward movement of the secondary board l4 will cause the pawl 68 to engage one of the notches 69 and move the secondary plate 64 in a counter-clockwise direction.

It will be observed that at this time the separate section 2| of the board is prevented from counterclockwise movement by reason of the engagement of the dog 34 of the lever 30 so that the separate section 2| is held stationary during the counterclockwise movement of the secondary plate 64. If desired, the pawl 68 may be pivoted to the secondary board l4, as indicated at 16, to permit the pawl to follow with the circular path of travel of the plate 64. In such case the pawl 68 should be urged to its normal position by means of a suitable spring II, the pawl 68 being stopped in its normal position by means of a suitable stop plate 12.

In order to facilitate the assembly of the board,

I prefer to mount the separate section 2| and the secondary plate 64 upon the shaft 23 which is, as shown in Fig. 5, of tubular construction, thus permitting the entire assembly to be removed as a unit, the tubular shaft 23 being assembled with the disc 26 as by means of a pin I3 extending upwardly from the disc 28 and having a spline 14 70 thereon for connection with a corresponding spline on the lower end of the tubular shaft 23.

By referring particularly to Figs. 6, 7 and 8, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that when the balls have been played upon the board 76 .the cabinet I.

It will be observed, however, that the level of the sub-floor I8 is considerably lower than the level of the playing board 3, and in order to restore the balls to the playing level it is necessary to provide a ball-elevating mechanism. A simple form of ball-elevating mechanism is shown herein as comprising a. sector 16 pivoted as at H to the right-hand side wall of thecabinet I. The sector 16 projects through a suitable slot '18 in the trough 15 to engage the ball 19 lying closest to the right-hand wall of the cabinet I at a point slightly to the left of the center of the ball 19. Thus by swinging the sector 16 about its pivot TI the ball 19 will be lifted by the edge of the sector 16 in a vertical direction until it becomes level with a recess constituting an extension of the channel l0.

It is usual to provide a partition wall Bl in the forward end of the cabinet I, and this wall may constitute one of the Walls of the trough 15 so that the ball will be guided by the partition 8| in a vertical direction. The recess 80 is illustrated in Fig. '7 as having its lower surface inclined slightly toward the right-hand side of the cabinet I so that once the balls have been lifted up to the recess 80 they will move into the recess and remain therein even though the sector 16 is retracted to its normal position as shown in Fig. 8.

The sector may be operated in any suitable manner, though I prefer to provide a plunger 82 extending through the lower end 5 and arranged to be pressed inwardly by the person playing the game, the inner end of the plunger 82 engaging one edge of the sector 16 so that inward movement of the plunger will cause the sector 16 to be rotated to lift the balls one by one into the recess 80. A suitable spring 83 may be provided to normally hold the sector 16 in its retracted position, as shown in Fig, 8.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to any of the details of construction shown herein, except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a game board, means defining a main playing field having a plurality of play piece receptacles distributed thereover, means defining a playing field section separate from said main playing field and having a play piece receptacle determined position.

2. In a game apparatus, a cabinet including a member providing a playing surface provided with a cut-out portion and having a ballreceiv- I ing pocket formed therein; a member rotatably mounted in said cut-out portion and having a ball-receiving pocket formed therein; means for propelling balls one at a time over said playing surface so that they may enter into one of said pockets; a member rotatably mounted in said cabinet below said playing surface for temporarily retaining therein a ball which enters into the said second-named ball-receiving pocket formed in said rotatable member; means including a device actuated by a ball entering said first-named ballreceiving pocket for moving said rotatable member and a ball disposed in the said ball-receiving pocket formed therein a predetermined circumferential distance relative to said playing surface; 1 and means including a member slidably mounted in said cabinet below said playing surface for moving said ball-retaining member so as to release a ball held thereby in the said second-named ball-receiving pocket. I

3. In a game apparatus, a. cabinet including a member providing a playing surface provided with a. cut-out portion and having a ball-receiving pocket formed therein; a member rotatably mounted in said cut-out portion and having an 4 annular row of ball-receiving pockets formed therein; means'for propelling balls one at a time over said playing surface so that they may enter into one of said pockets; a member rotatably mounted in said cabinet below said playing sur- 4. face for temporarily retaining therein a ball which enters into one of the said ball-receiving pockets formed in said rotatable member; means including a device actuated by a ball entering said first-named ball-receiving pocket for moving said or rotatable member and a ball disposed in one of the said ball-receiving pockets formed therein a predetermined circumferential distance relative to said playing surface; and means including a member slidably mounted in said cabinet below 5: said playing surface for moving said ball-retaining member so as to release balls held thereby in the said second-named ball-receiving pockets.

FRANK K. MAITLAND. 

